The present invention relates to a leg protection device to protect lower legs of a vehicle occupant from hitting against an interior panel or the like in front of a seat in a case of, for example, a car collision.
In order to protect lower legs of a vehicle occupant from hitting against an interior panel in front of the seat when a high-speed moving object, such as a car, is involved in a head-on collision, some leg protection devices mainly include an air bag disposed inside the interior panel (in a space backside of the interior panel), a gas generator for inflating the air bag, and a lid for covering the air bag in a normal state (when the high-speed moving object is not involved in a collision).
In such leg protection devices, the air bag is folded and placed inside the interior panel in the normal state, and the lid is mounted so as to cover the folded air bag.
When the car or the like is involved in a head-on collision, the gas generator is actuated to expel gas, and the expelled gas is supplied to the air bag, thereby rapidly inflating the air bag. In this case, the lid is opened as the air bag expands, and the air bag is inflated to protrude from the interior panel and deploy between the interior panel and the lower legs of the occupant so as to protect the lower legs from the interior panel.
In most cases, the interior panel as a seat-front member in the car or the like is convexly curved toward an interior of a vehicle compartment in section in a vertical direction. In such a case of the curved interior panel, when the air bag is inflated and deployed between the interior panel and the legs, a large gap is sometimes formed between the air bag and the interior panel.
An object of the present invention is to provide a leg protection device for the vehicle occupant, in which an air bag is inflated and deployed along a seat-front member, such as the interior panel, without a large gap between the seat-front member and the airbag even when the seat-front member is convexly curved toward the interior of the car cabin.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.